Written by Michael Shank, adjunct assistant professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs, and Maxine Bédat, CEO and co-founder of Zady for MSNBC

“There are few industries fickler than fashion, changing annually and swapping seasonally. The good news is that fashion can, in theory, change more quickly than the energy or agricultural industries, for example. And when it comes to tackling climate change, agility and the ability to rapidly retool practices will be essential attributes of the most resilient and sustainable industries.

This is how Emma Watson’s recent take on waste — she appeared at a red carpet New York City gala wearing a dress made entirely of trash — could herald a new trend for fashion. Or at least, it should, because we’re rapidly approaching “peak stuff” with bursting consumer closets that are unsustainable by any measure.

Most clothes are worn, on average, only seven times before they’re discarded, forcing an astonishing150 billion new clothing items to be made annually. Thank “fast fashion,” a business model based on the fabrication of hyper trends and clothing that doesn’t last for consumers to accumulate. But given limited natural resources and the urgent need to protect what remains from further apparel-driven pollution, the cutting edge in fashion will soon need to trend and tack towards something more people- and planet-friendly.

Getting clothing cheap enough for the fashion industry’s disposable model has required massive amounts of cheap material and cheap labor — both of which came with devastatingly high and unaccounted-for costs.

First, the push for low prices led to cheap material. Polyester is the worst: It’s a plastic made from fossil fuels and found in 50 percent of all clothing. It’s enormously energy intensive and doesn’t bio-degrade, making for a catastrophic carbon and environmental footprint. In outsourcing production, a process greased by decades of trade deals, we simultaneously outsourced pollution to countries with even dirtier power grids. Now, 10 percent of the world’s total carbon footprint comes from the apparel industry, and apparel is the second largest polluter of fresh water globally. These are devastating stats, and we’re wearing them on our sleeves.

Second, the push for low prices also led to cheap labor. The apparel industry’s race for the cheapest inputs relied on laborers at the very lowest end of the wage spectrum in countries with few protections for workers. While the industry has created jobs and lifted some people out of poverty, the hard truth remains that low wages, forced labor, unhealthy and dangerous working conditions, and child labor are now rampant throughout apparel supply chains. Children are working in appalling conditions that amount to modern day slavery.

The good news is that consumers are reaching their limit with all of this. And there’s a realization in the post-Paris climate world and in the U.N.’s recent adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals that we must put an end to polluting factors and worker abuse. Even the Vatican is connecting the dots between the apparel industry’s modern day slavery and climate change. To ignore any of this is to remain regressively retro.

While we still have a broken apparel industry, we do have a consumer base that is hungry for change, which is why Emma Watson’s trash stunt got so much traction on social and traditional media. People want something better, they want something different and they want it to be sustainable. They don’t want what they wear to worsen the planet or people’s lives. This means that all of us have an opportunity — an opportunity to create a different future.

All across the fashion ecosystem, we’ll need progressive leadership and a willingness by multilateral institutions, from the United Nations to the World Bank, to make the connection between apparel and the environment and economic development. The connections are obvious. Thus, we can no longer ignore the final (fashion) frontier in our efforts to clean up the planet and our dirty practices. The U.N.’s newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals, for example, are all about social inclusion, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability — three pillars that aren’t, at present, at the epicenter of the apparel industry.

That must change. And it’ll require some new patterns by non-apparel types. Journalists exposing the adverse social-environmental impacts of apparel production, guiding readers towards possible solutions and avoiding “greenwashing.” Brands adopting sustainable practices, from design through production, within their own businesses. Influencers, some of today’s best storytellers, showcasing the beauty and benefits of living simply. Educational institutions teaching the next generation the skills needed to identify industry-specific problems in fashion and improve its sustainability.

We can do this. It does mean that we’ll need more Watson-type moments when people break the red carpet mold to speak out for the planet and for people’s livelihood. But Watson is not alone. Nor are we. It’s time to start wearing a different world.”

We’re featuring a guest blog from a blogger, Dr. Surbhi Shrivastava, in New Delhi who provides a glimpse of fast fashion in India! Dr. Surbhi Shrivastava is a dentist-activist currently working with an NGO based in Delhi, India on Public Health Rights and Accountability. A lover of street shopping, she attempts to bring social justice to the world of fashion and help its people live with dignity.

This is a shout-out to the likes of girls like me.

We love clothes, and unabashedly so. We feel a rush when we don a new outfit and make it our own. But what’s even better is that while your clothes are turning heads, what’s running through yours is that “I can’t believe I got this for Rs.150 ($2.30)! That costs lesser than my lunch.”

In Delhi, when Rs.150 and clothes feature in the same sentence, that sentence usually ends in Sarojini Nagar. If you’re a street-stuff buff, then you could probably make that happen even in GK or Khan Market. And they never disappoint. But are cheap, pretty things found exclusively on the streets? Or do retail stores now offer both, pocket-friendly clothes and the brand name? The policy at work here is that of fast fashion.

Fast fashion is a breakthrough that rapidly puts designer pieces from the runway at the feet of the middle-class aficionados. One would then wonder how something as coveted as catwalk items became common items. Is it a step towards an egalitarian world or is it just not the big picture?

The banal truth is that the developing world is home to all the manufacturing units of the retailers and employs almost 2.8 million women. This wouldn’t be of concern if it meant employment and a good wage for them. Except that, it is far from it. These women are overworked, ill-treated, insufficiently paid and even abused because there is a mass-production deadline to be met before the next trend makes its appearance. So while we no longer have to pay an arm and a leg to look fashionable, these women still do, and quite literally. We become partners in crime, unaware the entire time.

One must then think that when the clothes are being sold at low prices, the companies must be cruising towards a loss. But the truth is the exact opposite where the owners of these brands are ‘among the top 10 richest people in the world’ and earn in figures that are alien to the common man. It’s a classic case of bourgeois vs. proletarian.

Another feather in the cap of fast fashion is that the rate at which new items are produced is in line with the rate at which consumers discard the old ones. Since there is a new collection before you could blink, a lot of these clothes are worn a bare minimum number of times before they head for the landfills. That’s an ecological concern that gets overlooked because fashion is believed to be trivial and frivolous when the industry is actually the second largest polluter, after oil.

With this bitter truth becoming more blatant, people are taking notice. Activist Livia Firth has been pushing the envelope by devising green outfits and spearheading the #30wears campaign, to endorse responsible fashion. It is important to realise that fashion fuelled by another person’s blood and sweat is no fun at all. This does not translate into boycotting these stores because let’s face it, the reason they sell so many is that we throw away those many and the cycle continues. For the sake of our planet and its people, there needs to be more commitment to the closet.

So then what’s the ask?
The ask is that we enjoy clothes. We make a million memories in them. We fight with our siblings for stealing them. We pass them on to little cousins. We make lehengas out of saris. We marvel at the capris we fit in from eight years ago (only a blessed few). When we have had our fill, we give them to someone less fortunate, only to make new memories in. But we don’t throw them away. Because let’s not forget, we love clothes.

As spring rolls around, we have been thinking about what a season really means for the socially-conscious world of fashion. With pre-seasons becoming an increasingly common addition to the typical Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter collection cycles, the efficient management of scarce resources becomes a greater challenge.

Our view is that by reducing the number of collections and focusing more on designs with longevity, versatility and timeless appeal, fashionistas will be able to repurpose the same designs for longer periods of time. This would create less material waste and an increased focus on the actual value of fashion.

Of course the idea comes with its own share or criticisms. The first of which is the concern that a decreased number of collections annually will lead to decreased profits for designers. The second is the view that sustainability isn’t always on trend, a view found by recent studies. Therefore, the change of mentality around seasonality will not be an easy journey.

On one hand, designers must ensure they are producing items that have longevity and can withstand the test of time both due to design and quality, which would justify a higher price point. On the other hand, consumers must realize the value of eco-concious and sustainable materials that are made of good quality materials. This understanding will take a lot of designers pursuing this creative vision and a lot of consumers accepting it as the new norm.

Our collections are strongly designed around the theme of longevity, with quality made pieces that can transform from day-to-night, winter-to-summer and everything in between.

Until we see the minimization of seasonality on the run way, there is plenty consumers and designers can do to drive toward this movement. Designers can use materials and designs that are versatile and long-lasting. Consumers can purchase from designers who abide by these principles and ensure they take care of their garments and accessories in a manner that maximizes their life. In a recent blog and in blogs to come, we will highlight the proper way to take care of your jewellery and garments to protect them against the test of time.

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The Bay & Harbour Blog

Bay & Harbour is the brainchild of a Toronto-based mother/daughter team with an eye for trend-setting, unique and high-quality fashion & lifestyle products.

The pair is inspired by different cultures, handicraft techniques, discrete designs, and fashion trends from their travels around the world. Bay & Harbour as their outlet to share that love of design with others.

The Bay & Harbour collections feature a variety of accessories & lifestyle products for both men & women.

The co-founders are passionate about fashion with a cause. Many of the Bay & Harbour collections also include pieces that are sustainable and / or ethically made.